Source: FOOTYMAD
We've got World Cup Webb
Last summer Howard Webb refereed the World Cup Final between Holland and Spain but tomorrow he drops into the Football League for the first time in almost two years when he takes charge of our game against Preston at Deepdale. You have to go back to May 2009 to Webb's last Football League game when he refereed a Championship clash between Reading and Birmingham.Last season, however, he refereed us five times in the Premier League. They were the home games against Aston Villa, West Ham and Stoke and the away fixtures at Everton and Sunderland.He should have sent off Villa's Richard Dunne in his first Burnley game of the season but it was at Everton where he turned in a shocker of a performance. There were no complaints over the red card awarded to Stephen Jordan but he went card happy at our players and the yellows shown to Tyrone Mears and Andre Bikey were just a complete joke.We'd had problems with him before and no more so than the FA Cup defeat at Millwall in 2004 when he allowed Dennis Wise to virtually run the game. The red card he gave Paul Weller was a nonsense.His last Burnley game in the Football League was also controversial as he awarded Stoke a stoppage time penalty for the softest of contact between Jon Harley and Liam Lawrence.Webb's often accused of wanting to steal the limelight - hopefully he won't do that at Preston and will let the players get on with playing the game.This season, domestically, he's refereed 26 games in which he's handed out 72 yellow cards and three red cards. Of those, 35 have gone to home team players and 37 to away team players. He's sent off Newcastle's Fabricio Coloccini in a 5-1 defeat at Bolton, Steven Gerrard as Liverpool lost 1-0 at Manchester United and most recently Jean Makoun of Aston Villa in a 1-1 draw at Blackpool.Webb was in action in Europe in midweek; yellow carding four players and sending off two in the Porto v Seville game. His last domestic game was last week's FA Cup tie between Stoke and Brighton. There were two yellow cards in that game; Marc Wilson and Jermaine Pennant, both of Stoke.The assistant referees tomorrow are Dave Bryan and Ceri Richards (Carmarthenshire). The fourth official is Phil Gibbs (West Midlands), the Football League referee who turned in something of a horror show recently when he refereed our home game against Norwich. Previous Burnley games:SeasonOppsVResYRBurnley players cardeda2002/03Milwallh2-220Gnohere2003/04Cardiffh1-120West2003/04Millwalla0-141Grant Wood Weller(R)2004/05Blackburna1-230Cahill Grant2006/07Leicestera1-040Hyde Sinclair2007/08Stokea1-150Harley Lafferty2009/10Aston Villah1-130.2009/10Evertona0-261Bikey Elliott Duff Mears Jordan(Y/R)2009/10West Hamh2-130McDonald Fox2009/10Stokeh1-120Carlisle McDonald2009/10Sunderlanda1-250Duff Thompson
